Paper or plastic? We all know it’s a good idea to bring our own shopping bags to the grocery store. Some states are even trying to ban plastic shopping bags and some stores are charging extra for them. But have you ever thought about those plastic bags that accrue from bulk and produce shopping? Well, I have, and frankly they’re a peeve of mine and I’d be happy to see them go as well. Their problems are many, including:

● They’re not reusable and are devastating to our planet and its inhabitants.
● They get all gross inside and are impossible to dry. You might try turning them inside out, but then you’ve got the dirty outside of the bag on the inside, going next to your food and well, my touch of OCD just can’t abide that.
● They’re made from plastic. Whenever I can avoid plastic touching my food, I’m a happy woman. You’ve heard about BPAs, right? Well, I recently read that even BPA-free plastic has problems.
● They don’t work well for storage. These bags don’t breathe and they don’t close well, so food has a tendency to spill and expires prematurely.

Thankfully, I’ve found a wonderful answer to my plastic bag woes: Blue Lotus Goods’ sustainable Produce & Bulk Food Bags! Here are the reasons I love them:

● They’re reusable, and machine washable! You can toss these right in with your laundry to get clean and then pop them inside your shopping tote, stored in the car, for your next shopping trip. *Do follow the care instructions and line dry your bags (I put mine in the dryer and they shrank!)
● They’re made from 100% Organic Cotton! Put your food in these lovely bags and you will have no qualms about putting said food in you. They’re even committed to using inks that contain no phthalates, are non-carcinogenic and non-toxic. Plus, they are free of heavy metals and solvents. Why this isn’t the norm, I may never understand, but that’s a topic for another post.
● They’re great for storing veggies. Moisten the bags slightly with water (every couple of days) and place them in the crisper section of your fridge to keep water-loving vegetables (like carrots, broccoli and greens) fresh and crisp for more than a week.
● The designs are adorable. Carrots! Grains! Greens! These graphics just make you want to use them and they’ll garner enthusiastic comments (and perhaps a touch of envy) from everyone who sees them. Blue Lotus even prints the tare weight on the bag (lower left corner) so you don’t pay for the weight of the bag. Just ask your checker to deduct it.
● They’re the perfect sizes. The bags for Greens are big enough for plenty of greens, which is very necessary for our kale-hungry family!

Surely you can understand why I’m so in love with these bags. All of the goodness and no downside! Easy decision if you ask me, especially since they’re offering 20% of your next purchase at BlueLotusGoods.com to our fabulous Sweet Talk readers. Just enter code: ALGO11 on their website before July 31st to take advantage of this offer.